On Tuesday, Eesti Ekspress wrote that a draft bill currently before the Riigikogu Legal Affairs Committee would reduce transparency in pretrial criminal proceedings, meaning the public would learn significantly less about ongoing criminal investigations. The newspaper also pointed to a number of examples of cases that either would never have become public knowledge or at least would not have reached the public promptly if the current system were changed.

The amendment to the Code of Criminal Procedure would reverse the current practice under which pretrial proceedings and appeals of court rulings are by default held as public hearings. According to the explanatory memorandum attached to the bill, parties could instead exchange positions in writing, saving time for everyone involved.

In the future, it would be up to the court to decide whether a hearing is necessary in a particular pretrial proceeding or appeal or whether the matter could be handled in writing.

Minister of Justice and Digital Affairs Liisa Pakosta (Eesti 200) told ERR Wednesday that the aim is to speed up court proceedings.

"In pretrial proceedings where evidence is still being gathered, the court holds hearings in front of an empty courtroom. Since the goal is to speed up court proceedings so courts can reach fair decisions more quickly, the courts themselves have found that holding mandatory hearings concerning investigative actions is not justified," Pakosta said.

According to her, the option of public hearings would remain if the suspect requests one, if the court deems it appropriate or if the prosecutor considers it important.

"It simply speeds up court proceedings considerably," Pakosta said.

The minister also argued that eliminating such hearings could have positive effects from the standpoint of the presumption of innocence.

"For example, there may be an investigation into suspected pedophilia or something similar and later it turns out everything was proper and nothing wrong was done. Even public media coverage merely suggesting that something might be wrong can leave a stain on a person," Pakosta said.

Writing in Eesti Ekspress, journalist Tarmo Vahter said the proposed changes would amount to a fundamental ideological shift in Estonia because if courts no longer discuss matters publicly, the public will not learn about them either.

"I have nothing against granting circuit court judges more flexibility in how they work. But in the process, the openness of Estonia's justice system that has developed since the restoration of independence should not suffer. If hearings are eliminated, the public must still somehow be informed about the criminal cases under discussion," Vahter wrote.

Former justice minister and chair of the Riigikogu Legal Affairs Committee Madis Timpson (Reform) said the committee has not yet had the chance to discuss the issue in substance and that deliberations which began Monday are expected to continue next Tuesday.

"I do not have a firm position yet. I understand the concerns of media representatives and personally they seem sympathetic to me, but I have not yet heard enough of the other side's arguments to specifically choose a side," Timpson said.

"This is certainly an issue that needs broad discussion and the committee will get there," he added. "Law enforcement agencies look at it from one side, the media from another and the point of agreement should be somewhere in between."

Timpson added that he personally does not support keeping proceedings closed for extended periods and leans toward maintaining the current system.

According to Timpson, the bill, which more broadly reforms criminal procedure, could reach the Riigikogu plenary for debate in June after possible amendments are made.

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